Body Parts Found at 2 Sites From 1 Corpse, Official Says

Coroners have determined that a headless torso discovered in Lincoln Heights and bagged body parts found three days earlier in Pico Rivera are from the same corpse, officials said Tuesday.

“It appears the parts do match,” said Capt. Edward Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. “We are doing further tests.”

The woman’s torso and an arm were found Monday in a trash bin at a Los Angeles Fire Department maintenance facility on Avenue 19.

Two trash bags with other parts were found Friday in Pico Rivera.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the discovery as a homicide.

“We are relieved that there aren’t two corpses,” Winter said. “Our priority is now to identify the dead woman.”

Winter said the parts make up a complete corpse. Pico Rivera residents had noticed the two garbage bags Wednesday, but it wasn’t until a motorist ran over a bag that its contents were discovered, according to televised reports.

Carlos Gudino told KABC-TV Channel 7 that he was parking his SUV when he ran over one of the bags, which he said felt like a speed bump. He said his friend got out of the vehicle to see what they had hit and discovered two legs in the bag.

Gudino said he then got out and looked at the contents.

When the men looked into the other bag, they found a head and an arm, he said.